Shop Buildout Update

The last couple weeks we’ve been building out the shop and it’s finally taking shape….

12/20: For a few weeks, preparing to begin working on the Bike People brick and mortar shop was mostly time spent scouring facebook marketplace for workbenches, countertops, tables, anything cheap and potentially useful. One thing I’m trying not to spend much money on is furniture, I’m keeping it mostly DIY instead of hiring a professional merchandising firm or space planner.

I came across two giant 8’ long cabinets with countertops and built in cubbies reclaimed from a renovated school, and called up my friend Stan to follow me to Greenwood to muscle them into our truck beds, they were so insanely heavy. I had to depend on friends 3 different times to help me move them around so I could install wheels on them. These will serve as great initial pieces to work as service & coffee counters.

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been bringing my tools and lots of lumber into the future Bike People shop space and building out the very first features going into the new shop, as well as moving in donated workbenches, retail displays, and the cash register stand. I also bought some wood and built a 14 foot long wooden bench that will be along the front wall for table seating and hanging out. Most notably last week, local artist, Siena Baldi, came by Monday - Wednesday mornings and knocked out a really fun mural across 2 prominent walls of the shop space. I’m trying not to show the mural yet so everyone can be surprised when they see it for the first time. Its too cool to waste the first impression on a screen view of it. I teased some partial pictures to Bike People Cycling Club members so they may have somewhat of an idea what to expect, but not much.

The work over the last two weeks has absolutely transformed the room. What started out as a white box has morphed into whats looking more and more like a fun and funky retail shop/ club hangout.

12/23: It’s been long nonstop days working on the shop buildout. I also have bikes from friends needing repair work I’m doing in my garage at home, yet I am transitioning tools and equipment to the shop so its getting tricky. I’ve decided I’m still going to keep a micro sized repair shop in my home garage for myself despite Bike People being a quarter mile walk up Highland Avenue away from me.

At the shop, I’m moving a lot faster now that I finally got locks and secured the space. I did some painting of the rolling counters I mentioned before, I installed the front sign, I rebuilt the donated cashwrap from Boomerang Boutique on Mass so it now has woodwork more fitting with the other counters. I installed wifi, I fired up the point of sale, I built the bike repair stand, I cleaned windows, mopped floors, cut plywood and sealed the giant gap above my door once I locked myself out and had to climb through it to get back in and realized how easy it was, and today I almost finished the workbench I started building yesterday out of the wood pile on the floor:

Pretty stoked, it’s 12 feet long!

Getting the point of sale up felt like a big milestone.

I’m home now with my legs up, relaxing after the construction marathon of the last couple weeks. I’m ready to enjoy some relaxing holiday time with my family over the next several days. I’ll probably end up working every day for a bit , its hard to stay away with so much to do. It feels exciting more than stressful, so I’m grateful for that.

I’m collecting some Bike People merch to sell that I guess I’ve been pretty tight lipped about, but not for any lack of excitement. I am currently wearing a Bike People hat I picked up from Vivus Supply, our local printshop. I just tried taking a picture to show you but Jess saw my attempt and laughed so now I just can’t do it, so thanks to her you’ll have to wait in suspense to see the hat. I found out the owner of Vivus is a hardcore bike person, he didn’t tell me this though, his wife did when she asked me about a cycling gift for him. Apparently he’s rode across the country. When I met him I instantly got the best vibes, but he said nothing about his own cycling even though we talked casually about the bike shop. I thought this was a fun fact to learn from his wife though because I’m legit trying to support all the bike people for Bike People.

Please do plan to bring some of your Christmas money to spend at our grandly soft opening on Saturday the 4th in case you see something you love. We’ll have these hats, short & longsleeve tee’s, mugs, Nalgenes, stickers, and some other fun cycling stuff for sale! We’ll post more about products as we unpack in the new space once the dust finally settles.

That’s all for now, more to come on progress and grand opening soon!

Enjoy the Christmas and the Holidays with your loved ones. I’m very grateful for you following here. Many of you I’ve known for a while, some I’ve just met this year, and many more I’ve yet to meet. I’m energized by you and appreciate your interactions on the socials, it keeps me going on long days working alone. If you haven’t said hi yet, please reach out whether you need any help with bike stuff or if you’re just excited about Bike People. Indy is a just a big small town and I can’t wait to make some new friends when we finally open!

-Matt